Budget UK Gaming PC (£350 - £370)

[BlueDinoMiner]

I will be building a budget gaming PC with my friend in around a months time.

 

The Specs we've gone with are:

 

AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition (Already bought - was only £50 for one day on amazon!!)

Sapphire AMD Radeon 7770 1GB

8GB 1600Mhz Corsair Vengeance RAM

1TB WD Caviar Blue

Asus M5A97 R2.0 Motherboard

Zalman Z9 Plus Case

 

So we have the processor and if you have anything in the spec list you think we should change then please let me know - be sure that it stays in the price range xD

Remember that we're from the UK so we can only get components from an UK website :)

 

Pictures of the build process will be up as soon as we get all the parts.

[ERSCreeper]

Zalman cases are so ugly. I would change the case. And see if you can bump up to a HD 7790

[nightlitezzz]

I would get a cheaper case WITHOUT sacrificing quality and functionality and spend a bit more on the graphics card. The NZXT Source 210 is a great choice, extremely good build quality considering the price. Like Nicholas Marzio said, get a 7790 if you can, better yet a 650 Ti Boost.

 

By the way this should be in the NB&P section

[mvitkun]

Zalman cases are so ugly. I would change the case. And see if you can bump up to a HD 7790

I like my zalman case lol,though it depends on how much he's buying it for.

 

for me when I was buying a case the zalman 11 plus cost $44.99,and at the time the source 210 would have cost more.

my thoughts

zalman Z11 plus 

-usb 3.0

-sexy window

-1x120mm fan + 2x120mm blue LED fans + 2x80mm fans

 

source 210

-1x 120mm fan

-usb 2.0

-no window

-no LED fans

 

the Zalman seems much more compelling to me.

[BlueDinoMiner]

Zalman cases are so ugly. I would change the case. And see if you can bump up to a HD 7790

I think they look quite nice with the blue LED's and the window. I'll look out for the 7790 to see if it ever gets a decent price drop (I hope it does :D)

 

I would get a cheaper case WITHOUT sacrificing quality and functionality and spend a bit more on the graphics card. The NZXT Source 210 is a great choice, extremely good build quality considering the price. Like Nicholas Marzio said, get a 7790 if you can, better yet a 650 Ti Boost.

 

By the way this should be in the NB&P section

In the UK the NZXT Source 210 is actually more expensive than the Zalman Z9. I didn't realize that this topic should be in the NB&P section - sorry about that. I'll be aware of that next time i create another topic like this.

 

I like my zalman case lol,though it depends on how much he's buying it for.

 

for me when I was buying a case the zalman 11 plus cost $44.99,and at the time the source 210 would have cost more.

my thoughts

zalman Z11 plus 

-usb 3.0

-sexy window

-1x120mm fan + 2x120mm blue LED fans + 2x80mm fans

 

source 210

-1x 120mm fan

-usb 2.0

-no window

-no LED fans

 

the Zalman seems much more compelling to me.

I have a Zalman Z11 for my personal Rig!! :D And I agree that window is sexy xD lol. The source 210 is more expensive in the UK anyway. I also agree that the Zalman is more compelling because my friend wants a cool, sleek, black case that has blue LED's (It matches is setup) and the Zalman Z9 is the best we've found so far to suit his needs

[BlueDinoMiner]

I would get a cheaper case WITHOUT sacrificing quality and functionality and spend a bit more on the graphics card. The NZXT Source 210 is a great choice, extremely good build quality considering the price. Like Nicholas Marzio said, get a 7790 if you can, better yet a 650 Ti Boost.

 

By the way this should be in the NB&P section

(overlooked the graphics card part) I definitely be looking out to see if the 650 Ti Boost or the 7790 will have any price discounts 

[mvitkun]

I have a Zalman Z11 for my personal Rig!! :D And I agree that window is sexy xD lol. The source 210 is more expensive in the UK anyway. I also agree that the Zalman is more compelling because my friend wants a cool, sleek, black case that has blue LED's (It matches is setup) and the Zalman Z9 is the best we've found so far to suit his needs

you should post a build log for his pc and yours  :rolleyes:

[nightlitezzz]

(overlooked the graphics card part) I definitely be looking out to see if the 650 Ti Boost or the 7790 will have any price discounts 

That would be best. Also I didn't know that about the prices of cases in UK. Get a Z9 or something then :P

 

you should post a build log for his pc and yours  :rolleyes:

Yea, take it apart and rebuild it! DO IT FOR US!  ;)

[mvitkun]

Yea, take it apart and rebuild it! DO IT FOR US!  ;)

well I meant post some final pics of it as it is now......but I like your idea better....you know the idea of shameless begging  :P

[nightlitezzz]

well I meant post some final pics of it as it is now......but I like your idea better....you know the idea of shameless begging  :P

We have to make the OP work  :D

 

*EA Fist Bump*

[mvitkun]

We have to make the OP work  :D

 

*EA Fist Bump*

watched livestream,win

[BlueDinoMiner]

you should post a build log for his pc and yours  :rolleyes:

I like that idea!! I'll do it tomorrow :D

 

That would be best. Also I didn't know that about the prices of cases in UK. Get a Z9 or something then :P

 

Yea, take it apart and rebuild it! DO IT FOR US!  ;)

Ummm . . . I'm not sure about that one xD

[mvitkun]

I like that idea!! I'll do it tomorrow :D

I like that idea more

[KikoHQ]

Try eBaying for your graphics card instead. I got a 5850 for only $100. 

[Jebonia]

a raspberry pi would perform better than your pc. Mainly because yours won't even power on :P What Power supply were you thinking of getting?

[BlueDinoMiner]

a raspberry pi would perform better than your pc. Mainly because yours won't even power on :P What Power supply were you thinking of getting?

hahahaha, I stupidly forgot to put that in my post xD I'm planning to get the Corsair CX 430w PSU 

[DDR3RAMpager]

I have done a build nearly identical to this one. To save money, for a low budget system get 4gb of ram then another 4 later if you find you need it. Crucial ballistic tactical is £20 for a 4gb dimm (same frequency but faster timings than the corsair stuff anyway). Get a 500gb seagate for about £36 (faster than the wd blue). Use the money you saved on the hdd and ram to get the msi hd 7790 for £108. Also, replace the case for a fractal designs core 1000 for £25! Psu is solid. If you are not fussed about the usb3 on your motherboard you can save more and get a asrock 960gm for £35.

Hope it all goes well.

[BlueDinoMiner]

I have done a build nearly identical to this one. To save money, for a low budget system get 4gb of ram then another 4 later if you find you need it. Crucial ballistic tactical is £20 for a 4gb dimm (same frequency but faster timings than the corsair stuff anyway). Get a 500gb seagate for about £36 (faster than the wd blue). Use the money you saved on the hdd and ram to get the msi hd 7790 for £108. Also, replace the case for a fractal designs core 1000 for £25! Psu is solid. If you are not fussed about the usb3 on your motherboard you can save more and get a asrock 960gm for £35.

Hope it all goes well.

Thanks for the great reply! We are considering getting 4gb of ram now instead of 8 and get another 4gb dim later on. Since game recording using fraps will be done, 1tb is needed and if there is enough savings we're seriously considering getting the 7790 since there is quite a performance improvement for not much more money. I did check out the asrock 960gm since USB 3.0 isn't a big deal for us but it turns out there is no sata 3 ports which we want because in the future an SSD could be in the build and I think the motherboard I've chosen at the momment is more future proof. Thanks for the recommendations!!

[mvitkun]

Thanks for the great reply! We are considering getting 4gb of ram now instead of 8 and get another 4gb dim later on. Since game recording using fraps will be done, 1tb is needed and if there is enough savings we're seriously considering getting the 7790 since there is quite a performance improvement for not much more money. I did check out the asrock 960gm since USB 3.0 isn't a big deal for us but it turns out there is no sata 3 ports which we want because in the future an SSD could be in the build and I think the motherboard I've chosen at the momment is more future proof. Thanks for the recommendations!!

I would say definitely go for 8GB ram.

 

8GB is the sweet-spot where you can do pretty much anything you need.

 

with 4GB you'll have 3GB usable since windows always uses 1GB minimum.

[DDR3RAMpager]

I personally find a very small difference in speed between sata 2 and 3 in real world performance. In benchmarks there are differences. If you want 8gb of ram straight of then consider getting 2 4gb dimms of crucial ballistics tactical instead of the corsair kit because it is cheaper and slightly faster. Post pictures once you build it. Again, core 1000 highly recommended for the price.